The long and arduous process of deciding who should replace Steve Carell in the hit NBC comedy The Office, and it’s firming as James Spader, who appeared as Robert California in the season finale.

However, it seems that he won’t be in the chair for long, as it is believed that he will talk his way to the top and become CEO of Dunder Mifflin-Sabre. This means the actor himself will likely not become a permanent addition to the cast.

So, what to make of this?

Well, many people will at first be disappointed that Catherine Tate will not become the new boss. Unknown to most US viewers, she is a proven comedic performer who became popular in both the UK and Australia for her Little Britain-esque show The Catherine Tate Show.

To many, she was the best- meaning funniest- part of a very dull finale, and many though she would add a different flavour to the show which would give the show- which is slowing in its old age- a new lease on life.

The addition of James Spader was one obviously made because of the fact he is a big name in the TV world thanks to his role in Boston Legal, hence he is also a recognisable face for new viewers to latch on to.

But the decision to only keep him on for a short time is an interesting one.

It has obviously been made due to a combination of factors; Spader may not want to commit to the show long-term. It is also a win-win for the show; as mentioned before, the familiar face, along with Spader’s good track-record will make it more difficult for the nay-sayers to criticize the addition of a new cast member. On the other hand, the flagged early exit will alleviate any of the doubts that Spader may bring. And if he does prove to be a phenomenal success, I’m sure NBC would have a clause in his contract allowing him to be kept on with a pay rise.

And the other reason for the rumoured short term? Possibly because the whole new boss experiment was largely a failure. The finale- despite its big names- was a fizzer. Even the David Brent/Ricky Gervais cameo failed to match the surprisingly brilliant Carell-Brent chance meeting earlier in the season.

Most of the guest stars supposedly in contention for the role were really never “in contention”; Jim Carrey? Ricky Gervais? Ray Romano? Puh-lease…

And now that Catherine Tate seems to have been ruled out – presumably the writers/producers couldn’t get her over the line with the network powers that be.

At least this way, Spader will be able to exit and wrap up that particular story arc without it looking like a cop-out. It will also leave a spot open for one of the established cast to move into.

For what it’s worth, it’s got to be between Ed Helms (Andy) and Craig Robinson (Darryl). Both have enjoyed considerable increases in fame since becoming major characters in the cast (Daryl has moved up from the warehouse while Ed Helms is now included in the main credit sequence).

They will both be looking for pay-rises for this reason, and making one of them the main man would allow for this.

I know it’s crazy, and I doubt they would go down the co-managers route again, but would the show even go with the both of them as bosses? It would certainly test their growing friendship (or “bromance”, if you prefer), and compare their contrasting characteristics well.

But again, they’ve already been down this path in the very mediocre season 6.

Which ever way it goes, it will certainly make for an intriguing season 8. And it will be interesting to see whether the show will benefit greatly from this shake-up or alienate its loyal fans.

Desperate Housewives will be adding another male regular to the cast in Season 8 (on top of the already great addition of Jonathon Cake as Bree’s new love interest).

Hawaii Five-O will also bag another Lost alumnus in the form of Terry O’Quinn (who played John Locke in the hit ABC show). It’s also good to see him on TV in some capacity after the Marc Cherry-helmed Hallelujah pilot fell through earlier this year.

Mad Men has locked down its most valuable asset in Jon Hamm for another three seasons- virtually assuring that the show will run through to Season 7. However, its future after that is on very shaky ground, with the strong word being that it won’t continue much further after its seventh season.

Showtime’s new drama House of Lies is shaping up to be a pretty interesting little show, especially when you consider it stars Australia’s Josh Lawson (Thank God You’re Here). I also hope, for Ben Schwartz’s (Parks and Recreation) sake, that he is able to shed his “Jean-Ralphio” tag. Unfortunately, the Hollywood Reporter had misspelt Josh Lawson’s name in this edit- so it’s fair to say he’s not quite a household name yet?

We all make mistakes...

It’s the TV off-season in the US, so you have to take what you can get here, but Michael Ausiello at TVLine reports that Breaking In will probably not get a reprieve after being axed a short time ago.

He also reports that Catherine Tate will probably not be the new boss on “The Office”. This is very disappointing for some who were holding out hope for Tate to shake things up a bit, but I’d wait just a bit longer before you start jumping to any conclusions about the new boss (let’s face it, if it’s not her, it would only be between James Spader, Ed Helms and Craig Robinson).

So, Fran Drescher (The Nanny) has a new show on TVLand entitled “Happily Divorced”, which you could almost brush off as another “New Christine” if it wasn’t for the semi-interesting fact that it’s based on her life in that she and her husband split because he was gay. Hey, if it worked for “Raymond”, right?

In Australian news

You’ve got to admit that that the (non-?) story about comedian James Brechney popping up on Q and A posing as a climate change-skeptic was a doozy, for a number of reasons. I should state that while I would like to admit to picking him as a fake, I didn’t; and let that be a credit to his comedic/acting skills. But at least I didn’t jump up and down frothing at the mouth like half of Twitter did on Monday night- especially after he stated that climate change was “just a theory” like gravity. The small problem with his prank/political protest was that it wasn’t really that far from what a sceptic would normally say, which caused the panel members to take him all too seriously. Garrett must be red-faced now, as now he appears to be pandering to the questioner- so probably the biggest indictment is on the ABC program. But kudos should go to Brechney for trying to prove a point- he has definitely come out on top. Here’s the clip:

There’s a bit of “Office” talk floating about after its finale aired on Thursday night in the US. (Minor spoilers for Australian viewers). The response to the barrage of guest stars lining up to be the new boss has received a middling to negative response from most critics. Despite appearances from comedy heavyweights Ray Romano, Jim Carrey, James Spader, Ricky Gervais and Catherine Tate, some critics were scathing in their appraisal. Take Alan Sepinwall of Hitfix

“…I worried that a parade of big name guest stars would not only not fit comfortably into the world of the show but turn the finale into a disjointed mess.

I feel my fears were unfortunately correct with Ferrell’s episode, and they sure seemed correct as I sat through last night’s bumpy, awkward, great big mess of a finale. “

In other “Office” news, TVLine’s Michael Ausiello has signalled the possibility that Jenna Fischer’s real-life pregnancy mights be written into the show… which I guess was kind of necessary? I mean the other choice was to write her out of the show for a block of episodes Tracy Jordan/Morgan-style, which wouldn’t be a bad thing for The Office given the increasing staleness of the Jim-Pam dynamic. But nothing is set in stone yet.

Which stars won’t have a job (well in terms of the TV industry) next season? You’ve got to feel for Lost’s Terry O’Quinn, what a great actor he was in Lost.

The only thing is, he’s referring to the Chris Martin episode of Extras, in which he makes a guest-appearance on: “I think it’s a bit weird, celebrities just popping up in a sitcom”, Gervais’ character says. And now Warren Buffet has popped up on The Office. I think it’s called irony… and “tongue-in-cheek”. And anyway, even if Gervais does think the show has gone to sh-t, he wouldn’t care all that much. And these days, jumping the shark isn’t really used in the same pejorative sense as it first was, and this is just a light-hearted dig anyway…

Who will play the Ron Swanson’s first ex-wife Tammy in Parks and Recreation. TV Fanatic throws up an interesting, logical choice.

In other non-Office related news, for fans of the British TV show Luther, the trailer for its second season has been released. And even if you’re not a fan of the show, or the brilliant Idris Elba, you’ve got to admit that this is a fantastic trailer. You’ve also got to love shows that go out and make great non-plot specific trailers like this which show you something about the character/s in the show, especially with a great song in the background. Soak this up:

In Australian TV News, TV Tonight hints at a raunchy episode of Offspring coming up this Monday. For mine, the latest season has seemed to take this sort of turn- which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The premiere kicked off the season well, but let’s just hope this raunchier turn doesn’t turn more conservative viewers off the show. And I think this tweet by comedian Josh Earl nicely summed up the vibe the promos put out for the show:

The stars are lining up to farewell Oprah (from one network to another). Today, it’s been Jennifer Aniston and Hugh Jackman. Very emotional stuff… sort of. Oh, and THIS, which I was alerted to by Crikey.

As some would know, one of the games in Letters and Numbers involves drawing random letters from two stacks (vowels and consonants), with the contestant dictating which pile to draw from. On this occasion, maths guru Lily Serna pulled out letters spelling “PENISDUMP”, so to speak. I have to admit, I started watching Letters and Numbers when it first started, but it became a bit monotonous and repetitive after a while. Fair to say that the chance of this happening again has reinvigorated my interest in the show.
(Alerted to this by crikey.com.au)

UPDATE: I suppose I better just say that I have recently found out that it is fake, which is disappointing. But you can still marvel at how well it has been put together. It just goes to show that not everything you see on the Internet is real, which is surprising; I may have have to reconsider the authenticity of some other things, like the above picture…

Thanks to EW, British actor Chris Vance will play The Transporter in the upcoming TV series of the same name. He has previously appeared in Prison Break and more recently, Dexter. He told EW:

EW has a nice wrap-up of all the new shows that will grace TV screens in the US fall season, as well a discussion on some cancelled shows.

TV Guide, along with many others, haven’t been too fond of Modern Family of late. Though, they have to remember, that like The Office, a “bad” episode of Modern Family is still about as good, if not marginally better than most other comedies on TV.

Let’s hope Modern Family rallies for next week’s season finale, because these last two episodes felt like they were written by Nolan Gould’s dimbulb Luke Dunphy.

After a fairly hefty block of renewals over the past week (Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, House), there have been four fresh cancellations. One of which was a mercy killing, three others were not unexpected and the other coming as somewhat of a surprise.

The shows, in order of predictability are Human Target, Traffic Light, Breaking In, Lie to Me and The Chicago Code.

Human Target was struggling in the ratings and was never a hit critically.

Traffic Light was an interesting case in the way that people could instantly see right through it. It was yet another relationship comedy about x number of couples. That was pretty much it. However, it did try to eschew the typical hammy sitcom tropes by filming it in the style of The Office, or more specifically, Modern Family (in the way that there seems to be a documentary being filmed, however, it is never remotely acknowledged). It was never panned, yet no-one ever raved about it.

There was a similar situation with Breaking In, in that it wasn’t terrible, yet simply didn’t do enough to capture anyone’s attention. Christian Slater can also chalk up another ‘miss’ on his… chalkboard. It also seemed a bit too “high-concept” for a comedy- it was about a crack team of professionals “Breaking In” to places to test their security. Even though it was a somewhat bizarre concept, at least it was original. But no-one could really see it going for six seasons.

Another “high-concept” idea was probably the death of Lie to Me as well, which was also axed. It lasted for three seasons and didn’t seem to form any permanent connection with viewers. Essentially, it was the poor-man’s House, and Cal Lightman came off as cold, without the accompanying endearing wit and flaws of Gregory House.

The Chicago Code had a lot of potential, if nothing else for the fact that it was created by Shawn Ryan (creator of The Shield), and there will be a small amount of outrage, yet it will probably blow over. Next!

There will be another series of The Farmer Wants a Wife, as evidenced by Nine’s casting call for season 7 here. As to whether it airs in the later half of 2011 or not, there is a strong chance.

“craig annis safm”

Craig Annis is a Melbourne comedian who has recently joined the SAFM breakfast team (on the Austereo Network). This represents a real success for Craig, who has been producing comedy podcasts with his friend Stefan. Have a listen to them here. They weren’t quite as funny as Hamish and Andy, but for a first effort they were really promising, and they at least demonstrated a willingness to work hard for a laugh (eg. there are some written pieces). Their TV show, Slightly Live also aired on the Melbourne community TV station, Channel 31. Here are the highlights off their site. Check them out! [Especially the “Hughesy Ruined my Life” sketch… Craig’s impression is absolutely spot on. He actually sounds more like Dave Hughes than Dave Hughes himself these days.] They also broadcasted on the Barry digital radio station (Austereo Network), which obviously led to Craig being picked up by SAFM. He know joins Rabbit and Hayley on their show… Hayley, Craig & Rabbit, on air 6-9am weekdays.

“why is modern family off air”

There is no need to panic when it comes to not seeing new episodes of your favourite show. Popular shows such Modern Family, The Office, 30 Rock, Community and Parks and Recreation have been on a long hiatus, with the exception of some new episodes being sporadically shown. It is just the yearly spring sweeps, a technique used to prolong seasons of different shows, until they finish up (only to reboot in September again- well, at least the lucky ones do). It has been a long wait for a new episode, with the new episode of Community, The Office and Community airing on the 24th of March 2011. Fans of Modern Family have had to wait since the 23rd of March 2011. However, new episodes are coming, and viewers will not have to wait long at all, with the next new ModFam ep coming on the 13th of April, and the NBC comedy line-up returns with new eps the day after on the 14th of April. Thankfully, they will all continue a fairly uninterrupted run until the end of their respective seasons. However, the bad news is that there are not many episodes left in the tank (around 4-7 eps of each left).

New eps of Modern Family would be expected to air in Australia soon after they do in the US.

“is s#*! my dad says being cancelled”

That bloody show with the annoying title is one of the more intriguing cases in the Renew/Cancel files… It’s anyone’s guess at this stage. I think it will be renewed, purely out of respect for William Shatner, however, it is definitely the weakest, comedy and ratings wise, out of the new CBS sitcoms (including Mike & Molly)

Well, the battle for Steve Carrell’s replacement seems to be heating up, well at least in viewers’ minds. You would think that the writers have it all mapped out. Assuming this, let’s have a look at who it could be exactly.

At first, I was of the mind that the replacement would come from inside the office, as were a few others, and as such, these suggestions were proffered.

It’s easy to think that the new boss will come in the form of a big name actor from outside, however, could it all just be smoke-and-mirrors? Let’s find out…

Note: Odds are completely and utterly unscientific and unofficial… in every possible way.

Introduced at the end of Season 6 in the Sabre story arc, he has been presented as “that” guy that everybody loves to hate, a bit like the Toby character, however, at least Toby has shown that he is at least a fairly normal guy at heart, but has been worn down to a miserable mess by various instances which haven’t gone his way. He has also shown that he can participate in groups such as The Finer Things Club with the only “normal” people in the office, Pam, Oscar and later, Jim.

Gabe is in many ways the antithesis to Steve Carrell’s departing character of Michael Scott.

Gabe is introverted and when he needs to exert himself the situation becomes excruciatingly awkward.

Michael is extroverted and when he needs to restrain himself, the tension is raised accordingly.

Gabe is the guy everyone should like (he goes about his own job, being overly careful not to tread on toes), but everyone can’t help but hate.

Michael is the guy everyone should hate (he “jokes” about people based on their race, weight, size, etc.) but everyone can’t help but love… or at least learn to live with. [If you don’t believe me, why are so many people sad to see him go?]

Michael is the kid causing trouble while Gabe is the parent trying to quell it.

You get the picture. This demonstrates why many thought Gabe would be the logical choice for new boss given his stark differences to Michael. It would also allow more room for the rest of the cast to shine, given Gabe’s ability to slink introverted nature. Some may also argue that the writers have been preparing for a Gabe takeover all along, with his current position of authority being a mechanism to test the waters for the future.

It would certainly add a new dynamic, that’s for sure, with instead of the boss being the one instigating all of the mayhem, it could be instead the boss trying to stop it- but failing, of course. Another possibility could be that the following contenders could be the one’s to assume a Michael Scott-type character, but instead it will be Gabe in the higher position of authority… much in the same way that 30 Rock works, with Liz Lemon trying to apply order to all of the chaos beneath her.

A suggestion that no one has really thrown up all that much. It would definitely be a shock to throw him into that position, for the viewers and for the character himself. It seems logical in terms of Helms’ progression as a star, as since he has joined the Office in Season 3, he was a welcome addition to the show. Since then, he has starred in the Hangover- a smash hit film, and Cedar Rapids- not so much, and the soon to be released Hangover 2. As a result of this, he was promoted to appearing in the main-credits.

It would certainly give more for his character to do, given his top-billing status. So far this season, he has been forced to watch as Erin got together with Gabe, despite his repeated efforts.

He also wouldn’t represent much of a departure from the Michael Scott character, which might or might not be a bad thing, as he isn’t prone to outrageous behaviour. He also isn’t good under pressure- which is a good thing.

However, too much of Andy tends to grate a touch- a bit like the rest of the cast- as viewers likely wouldn’t abide The Office every week if it consisted of an a cappella solo, a funny accent impression, Andy having another crack at Erin, a freak-out and a subsequent wall-punch.

Darryl (Craig Robinson) ODDS: 15-1

When he sauntered up to the Office floor at the end of Season 6, people immediately pegged him as a potential candidate. His cool and calm demeanor , as well as his intense likability would make him a popular, and therefore safe choice for Office boss. However, though it would be somewhat anticlimactic, it would be interesting to see Darryl under pressure, and also at odds with the rest of the Office, as we all know that despite his calm exterior, he harbors strong opinions, and can wither someone with one of his stares. He also possesses an emotional side, and is not afraid to show it.

Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) ODDS: 90-1

Why she will be: Jim-Pam dynamic change

Why she won’t be: Would make the character unlikeable

Also not mentioned as much, but if I were the writers, I would seriously consider it. Think about the dynamic shift it would cause. Most people are sick of Jim and Pam staring at each other across the desk for almost 2 seasons. The dynamic was changed when Jim became boss, as it shifted him off the lovebird desk and into his own Office. Yes, it wasn’t a success in terms of his character, as it made people dislike Jim, but at least viewers were spared excessive Jim-Pam storylines.

For example, most storylines with Jim and Pam involve a minor fight, or at least disagreement, only to have it resolved too neatly by the end of the episode. For example, when Pam’s ex-boyfriend Danny Cordray (Timothy Olyphant) visited, he was shown as a more handsome, smoother version of Jim. However by the end of the episode, it became known that he dumped Pam because she was too dorky. Hence Jim feels sorry for Pam while loving her even more. Eurgh.

Anyway, I think I’ve shown that moving Pam off the desk would be a good thing. Whether she would make a good boss still remains to be seen, and the writers certainly wouldn’t want to make Pam an unlikable character.

Definitely rule out Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling) because she is leaving the show

Also put a line through Jim’s name (John Krasinski), as he was already co-manager in season 6… and the experiment failed, on-screen and off-screen (ie. critically).

Also draw a tentative line in pencil through Dwight Schrute’s (Rainn Wilson) name, he has already been the boss, if only for a couple of hours, and while it was funny, life under the Schrute regime would become too much to handle for both the characters and the viewers.

Now for the big-names:

Will Ferrell ODDS: 60-1

Why he will be: Has hinted at it (jokingly?)

Why he won’t be: He’s Will Ferrell, FFS; Would inhibit time to make movies (less $$$, obviously)

Now obviously Will Ferrell, who will play D’Angelo Vickers in the show would be the writers dream choice for the role. He would bring bucket-loads of publicity to the show, not to mention his proven comic ability, improvisational skill, similar but different style to Carrell… but then there are the logistical problems…

In case you don’t know Ferrell is making bucket-loads from making movies. Some he has had the chance to write. Basically, the very same thing that Carrell wants to quit the Office for. There would be no striking reason as to why Ferrell would want to give this up to star in 10-15 minutes (?) of a show on a Thursday night to a just above average audience.

It would be about the money, and to a lesser extent, the integrity, and on both counts, a gig on The Office doesn’t stack up at all.

David Brent (Ricky Gervais) ODDS: 500-1

Why he will be: An exorbitant amount of money has been thrown at him (?)

Why he won’t be: Doesn’t need more money, especially not to compromise his integrity

The God of all things comedy (though he might object to me using that word- God, not comedy… and not because he’s modest) has also been floated as a possible replacement.

Obviously his character in the UK version of the Office, David Brent, has surfaced in one episode of the seventh season of the US Office to great critical acclaim. He has since announced that he would film a spot in the season final, in which the boss will likely be decided on-screen. This has set tongues wagging, and the fact that Brent teased audiences by asking Scott “any jobs going” have only intensified it.

But if I know Gervais (and I mean “know” in the most disconnected way possible that someone can “know” a celebrity), he won’t compromise his integrity by taking up a regular role on the show- despite any amount of money that has likely been thrown at him.

On his blog, there has also been an article linked to which has been titled “Ricky’s last day at The Office”. Can’t get much clearer than that.

He has also said on Letterman, he gets “half their wages anyway” (due to his executive producer role, royalties, etc.), so why would he want to get up at “6AM” every morning?

The Office has copped a fair bit of criticism over the past two seasons. Not in terms of it becoming a bad show, just in terms of it being a shadow of its former self, occasional over-focus on Michael Scott, outlandish behaviour by Scott, unsuccessful story-lines (Jim as co-manager)… this could all be alleviated by the addition of a fresh face (for US audiences). And one which is a proven comic performer at that.

In many ways, it is similar to Carrell himself, as he was relatively unknown when the Office premiered.

There is still a chance that if she didn’t join as boss that she would join in a smaller capacity (after all, there will be holes to fill in terms of Kelly’s departure, as well as BJ Novak, who plays Ryan… possibly).

The star of the Catherine Tate Show would certainly maintain the outrageous aspect of the Michael Scott character, yet the fact that she is a woman would definitely change the dynamic.

Robert California (James Spader) ODDS: 8-1 [Shortened from 15-1]

Why he will be: Popular TV actor, little other work on the big screen, can do outrageous/eccentric

Why he won’t be: Possibly may only be playing the role of a lawyer in the Scranton Strangler case- would make sense given his legal TV show background

His odds have recently shortened, with the mail being that Will Arnett is strongly linked with his other mysterious NBC pilot.

However, with a name like Robert California, he surely cannot be in serious contention- that’s a name of a one-off character if I ever saw one.

Note: The name Rhys Darby (Murray from Flight of the Concords) was also mentioned a while back as a possible replacement. Yet things seem to have gone quiet on that front. So unless he will be a real rabbit out of the hat, it is unlikely… unfortunately.